Tag Team
by paganpunk2
Summary: After a missing item is returned, Fox turns to Peppy for an explanation and learns a secret about the hare's past that will help determine his own future.  Falox.


He'd been gathering laundry when he found them. Two silver ovals on a chain, raised type, rounded edges. At the time he'd simply shoved them into his pocket, planning to deal with them later. There was no rush; the whole idea of dog tags was so outdated it was ridiculous. When people in their profession died, there generally wasn't anything left to identify. You just didn't come back, and that was all. For some reason, though, they were still standard issue, and the regulations still said they had to be worn. Not that the three others he lived with ever bothered to follow regulation, but if they'd been misplaced maybe someone would want them back.

Now, later that evening, Peppy pulled them from his pocket and examined them. Whose were they, now that he had time to deal with it…his eyes narrowed as he took in the name. The names. Two different names, both known to him.

One of the tags was Fox's; the other was Falco's.

It narrowed the field of owners down a bit, but Peppy was a little stunned. He knew of only one reason why people mixed their tags, and the idea that such a thing had occurred under his nose shocked him.

Well, then.

He walked down the hall to Fox's quarters, knowing it was a bit late to be knocking on doors but also aware that none of them had been sleeping very well lately. It was entirely possible that Fox, like himself, was still wide awake. He tapped quietly, the strong light of the hall bouncing off of the tags hanging from his hand.

They both started at the sudden knock. "Damn it," Falco muttered, rolling off of his lover. "Every time."

"It's probably nothing," Fox replied, rising onto his elbows and leaning over to steal a kiss. The connection drew out, transformed into an embrace of roaming hands and eager tongues.

The knocking grew louder.

"Should I answer that?" Fox queried with a sigh, pulling away.

"I think you have to." A quick grin. "Better put some clothes on first, though."

With another sigh, Fox slipped out of bed. "I'm coming," he told the door, and the call for attention ceased.

"Hurry up, will you? Getting lonely over here." He glanced back over his shoulder and saw Falco watching him struggle to dress, running one hand languidly along his own body. The sight was devastating. He moaned.

"Pants aren't cooperating," he growled.

"C'mere, let me help." Falco grabbed the belt and pulled up until rough material pressed tightly against his lover's hard erection. The gasp the action drew made him grin again, eyes sparking naughtily. "Better?"

"Bastard," Fox whispered before kissing him. His fingers wrapped around the cool tags hanging from the other's neck, feeling soft feathers beneath them. "Love you."

"Love you. Get the door." Before Falco let him go, he buttoned his pants. "There, now you're semi-decent, pity that that is."

Laughing shortly, Fox pushed him backwards onto the bed. "Get back in there before you catch pneumonia." Once Falco had gone motionless, invisible in the dark, he opened the door to reveal Peppy. "What is it?" he asked shortly. _What can be so damned important to interrupt me right now?_

"Found these in the gym bathroom. Thought they might be yours." The hare held out the chain, the tags bumping together with a low sound.

"I've been looking for those!" Fox exclaimed grabbing them. "They were in the bathroom?"

"Yes. I found them while I was cleaning earlier."

"Oh. Thanks. Hey, sorry if I was short a minute ago."

"It's all right. It's late." He paused. "By the way, you're missing one."

"Huh?" _Oh, gods, _he moaned internally. _He knows. We're screwed._

"Only one of those is yours. The other one is Falco's. Thought you should know." Peppy let a small smile slide onto his lips, and winked. "Just don't let General Pepper see that, kiddo," he whispered conspiratorially before walking away, hands tucked casually into his pockets.

Fox gaped after him. They were discovered, found out, ruined…_He didn't seem to care, though…that wink…what was that?_ He was torn between running after Peppy for an explanation and returning to his bed.

Eventually he closed the door and walked through the blackness, sliding the chain over his head and feeling the tags land heavily against his chest, where they belonged. Sitting on the edge of the mattress, he stared out the window at distant stars until hands covered his shoulders and pulled him backwards.

"What was all that about?" Falco whispered into his ear, hands running wild. They encountered the chain and traced it downward. "Hey, you found them!"

"No. Peppy did." Distraught, Fox rolled tightly against the other man.

"Did he notice…?"

"Yeah. But…he winked at me, after he mentioned it."

"Did he say anything?" From this corner of the room it had been hard to hear what had been said, and Falco had been concentrating more on his lover's silhouette than on the words being exchanged.

"He said to make sure General Pepper didn't find out." Fox was confused. _Shouldn't Peppy have been more upset? We aren't exactly engaging in a normal practice, after all…_

"That means we're safe, then. I thought we might be okay if Peppy ever figured it out. Besides, if it made him sick, he never would have given them back. He would have thrown the book at us instead."

Fox wasn't sure he agreed with all of the analysis, but it did serve to calm him. He dug his face more securely into his partner's shoulder, inhaling the spicy scent he could not imagine living without. A moment later he giggled as fingers ran down his sides to the top of his pants. "You're wearing too many clothes," Falco informed him, deftly undoing the clasps and pulling them off.

They began again where they'd been interrupted. It was impossible to keep quiet when they did this, but somehow they always managed to muffle their needy screams. More than once they blocked each other's moans with hard kisses, each taking his turn to slip into the other until they'd both lost count of the climaxes.

Life was marvelous.

"Are you going to talk to him about it?" Falco asked around two in the morning, when they had caught their breath and lay together, exhausted, beneath the blankets.

"I probably should."

"You know he never went to bed."

"Yeah." Peppy's quarters were right next to Fox's; they would have heard if he had returned to his personal space. That proximity was half the reason they were always so careful about the volume of their voices during the rare times when they had both the time and the energy for sex. "I should probably go get this over with."

"Do you want company?" The offer was made quietly, willingly, but he shook his head; there was no point in both of them being there if things got awkward, and if Peppy reacted negatively he didn't want Falco getting defensive. He would go alone.

"No. Go to sleep. I'll be back in a little while."

"I'll stay here, but we both know I won't sleep." Fox smiled; neither of them could sleep well separately anymore. Even if it hadn't been for all the other shit that was going on all around them, every day, sleeping alone would have been torture. The need to share a blanket had almost gotten them caught more than once, but the risk was worth the reward. His bed simply didn't feel the same without Falco in it.

"Try anyway. Long day tomorrow." A long day every day. They didn't really get vacations anymore, not with the war in full swing, and that was part of the reason these nights together were so treasured.

He dressed and made his way to the bridge, somehow knowing that he would find Peppy there, staring out the windows at the stars. Approaching silently, he stopped to touch the tags under his shirt before speaking. "Hey."

Peppy turned, looking wholly unsurprised to see him. "Trouble sleeping?" he asked, sitting and motioning to a second chair.

"Yeah," Fox answered, also sitting. _I guess you could call him that_. "I, uh…I was thinking about what you said earlier?" He posed it as a question, not sure how to bring the troublesome topic up.

"About the General."

"Well…yeah…" Suddenly the words were pouring out, and he was helpless to stop them. "I know it's against regulations, and the law, and all of that, I _know_, but what's the big deal? Why does it _matter_? It's not like it's detrimental. If anything, it makes us both better, because it makes it feel like there's something to fight for. Like there's something we have to protect, something solid, something more than an ideal….am I wrong, Peppy? Is…is something wrong with us? With Falco and I?"

A low laugh was his only answer for a moment, and then Peppy looked at him solemnly. "You know, some ancient empires had rules that said certain military men, the best, couldn't marry. The history books, if they mention the fact at all, will tell you that the rule was established to keep thoughts of wives and children from distracting men in battle. That could be true, granted, but the sources…If you go back to the sources, they say that those laws were made so that men would form stronger bonds with one another. Some leaders believed that the best legions were those made up almost entirely of partners. Those legions were the strongest, they fought the hardest, and casualties were lower because every man had someone watching their back. The armies of men in love were the backbone of those civilizations."

"But those civilizations fell."

"All civilizations fall. Even our own cannot last forever. But what are the ancients remembered for? Their culture, yes, their art and literature and language, but what does every school child know about them, before they learn the names of philosophers and politicians? The _armies_, Fox. Those seemingly invincible armies. That's what people remember. And you know, the declines of most of those great civilizations didn't really start until after the edicts forbidding soldiers to marry were withdrawn or began to be unenforced. I think that says something, don't you?"

Fox swallowed heavily. "So…you don't hate me? You don't think we're…sick, or something? You don't think…" he squeezed his eyes shut. _You don't think father would hate me for it?_

Frowning slightly, knowing the unasked question, Peppy reached up and removed his own scratched and dented tags, tossing them to Fox. "I would have to be a hypocrite to hate you for that. Besides, I believe that people should follow their hearts, and furthermore that no one can help who they love or," he smirked, "who they lust after. As for your father…well, you can see that for yourself." He nodded towards the chain Fox gripped in his hand.

He read them slowly, disquiet tinged by a strange giddiness filling him. One of the tags was Peppy's; the other had belonged to his father. "You mean…" he looked up, met the hare's eyes. "Really?"

"Really."

"You both had families, though."

"Yes. It was part of our cover. You and Falco may well end up doing the same thing someday, since neither the government nor society seem to be in any hurry to change their ideas in the arena of sexual conduct. Having families didn't mean that we loved each other any less, and being with each other didn't mean that we loved our families any less, either."

Holding the tags so tightly that they tried to cut into his skin, Fox raised his eyes to the doorway and found Falco leaning against the frame. He didn't know how long he'd been there, but he had obviously gathered the gist of the conversation, because he was grinning. "So we're safe."

"With me, yes. Always, both of you. With others…choose them very carefully. Make certain you can trust the people you tell. Personally, I never told a soul. I don't think your father did, either. I know for a fact that your mother didn't know."

"Wow…" They were silent for a long moment before Fox handed the tags back and rose from his chair. "Thank you," he whispered before heading for the figure leaning in the doorway.

"You're welcome. Boys?" They both faced him. "Not too loud, hmm? Old codgers like me need their sleep." He smiled and winked knowingly before turning his chair away, back towards the bank of windows.

Exchanging glances, they made their way back to Fox's quarters. Fox stood staring out of his window, hearing clothes rustling behind him as they were removed, until hands materialized on his waist.

"I feel bad for him," Falco whispered in his ear.

"Yeah."

"I couldn't do what he's done."

Fox snorted. "Yeah, right. Nothing fazes you, Fal." It was one of the billion things he loved about the man behind him. _You could do it. I couldn't._

"That would faze me." There was something sad in his voice that made Fox believe him. "That would break me."

Shuddering, he turned, breathing into warm feathers and feeling the arms around him tighten possessively. "I know."

"Good." The word tickled, and one ear twitched in response. Falco laughed quietly. "I love you."

"Love you more."

"That's not possible, trust me."

"Well, equally, then, at least."

"Yup."

Bathed only in faint starlight, they stood together, sharing silent caresses, for the remainder of the night.


End file.
